The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to interposer-type electrical connectors.
The increased demand for smaller electrical devices such as cell phones and portable computers has led to a decreased size and increased density of internal electrical components of the device. To accommodate the smaller size and increased density, some electrical components are being mounted directly together using solder or the like to eliminate any intervening connectors. For example, in the past integrated circuits were typically mounted on a motherboard of an electrical device using an interposer. The interposer included an array of contacts that were placed between two opposing arrays of contacts of the integrated circuit and the motherboard to provide an electrical connection between the electrical contacts of the opposing contact arrays. However, some integrated circuits are currently being mounted directly to a motherboard using solder balls that engage the opposing contact arrays. Elimination of the interposer may reduce a height of an assembly of the integrated circuit and motherboard and/or may enable the assembly to have an increased number and/or density of electrical contacts for a given height.
It is sometimes desirable to test the function of some or all of the various electrical components of an electrical device, for example before selling or shipping the electrical device. However, when electrical components are mounted directly together using solder or the like, a permanent connection is established between the electrical components. Accordingly, if one of the electrical components fails the functional test, it may be difficult to salvage the other electrical component. For example, disconnecting the electrical component that passed the functional test may damage the passing electrical component, which may require that the passing electrical component be scrapped or subjected to a time-consuming and/or expensive refurbishment process. Moreover, even if the passing electrical component is not damaged when disconnected from the failed electrical component, remnants of the solder balls may need to be removed and/or new solder balls may need to be applied, which may be time-consuming and/or costly. As a consequence of such problems, many electrical components that pass functional tests are scrapped along with the electrical component that failed the functional test. As integrated circuits and other electrical components increase in complexity and functionality, it may be especially costly to scrap passing electrical components.